Jesus in Ezekiel 18:32

Ezekiel 18:32 “For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,” declares the Lord GOD. “Therefore, repent and live.”

Can you hear this cry of Jesus’ heart? He came to His brethren to warn them of the judgment that was coming upon the nation of Israel. And indeed in 70 A.D. the Romans utterly destroyed Jerusalem. Many Jews lost their lives. Jesus had warned His fellow citizens of this crisis throughout His ministry and even as He was being led to His crucifixion. Remember:

Luke 23:27 And following Him was a large crowd of the people, and of women who were mourning and lamenting Him.
Luke 23:28 But Jesus turning to them said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, stop weeping for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.
Luke 23:29 “For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.’
Luke 23:30 “Then they will begin TO SAY TO THE MOUNTAINS, ‘FALL ON US,’ AND TO THE HILLS, ‘COVER US.’
Luke 23:31 “For if they do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

Jesus was taking no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Think about that. People were wrongfully torturing and killing Him, yet He took no pleasure in the retribution that would come their way. Instead, He hoped they would repent and be spared.

Let us be like this One.

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB, unless otherwise noted. (In the NASB New Testament, quotations of the Old Testament are rendered in all capital letters in order to make them easier to identify: Luke 23:30 is quoting or alluding to Hosea 10:8 and possibly Isaiah 2:19.)